According to Australian media reports, tech giant Microsoft has shut down its quantum computing research facility in Australia after seven years of collaboration with the University of Sydney. Microsoft also confirmed this week that it would close Microsoft Quantum Sydney, which it has been running in collaboration with the University of Sydney since 2017, and relocate its quantum research and commercialisation efforts to its headquarters in the United States.

The University of Sydney Nano Institute has received substantial backing from the US government’s quantum computing funding program, with a $10 million grant over four years aimed at drastically improving existing quantum technology. The funding will allow the Sydney Nano team to deepen its research in quantum error correction and expand work with global industry, including collaboration with IBM scientists and access to IBM quantum systems over the cloud.